Growing up Cooper – Part 2
Growing Up Cooper – Part 2
Along with the questions I am so often asked about my father, I can share with anyone who may be interested some aspects of his character that are not part of the normal dialogue regarding Jeff Cooper.
1. He was a good singer.
Dad could not only carry a tune without accompaniment, he could harmonize at will. He had a good ear for music and a very nice baritone singing voice. As a family of five, we learned two pieces that we sang often. One was the Orchestra Song, where Dad was the tympani. Mom started it off as the violin. Christy and Parry were the clarinet and the trumpet and I was the horn———–only one note since I was the youngest and that was the easiest part to handle. Dad joined last as the tympani and we ended in a lovely five-part harmonic note. Such fun.
The second piece we sang as a family was Hark, How the Bells (Carol of the Bells) at Christmastime. I remember learning this together in the upstairs office portion of the local Catholic church in Big Bear. I do not know how that came about, but I enjoyed singing it immensely and the last sustained note was the lowest of the entire song, held by Dad. Lovely.
